Bottle carrier



P 1962 e. E. STRUBLE ETAL 3,053,411

BOTTLE CARRIER Filed Oct. 28. 1960 m mm 3% wwm F:/. N Mm a m Y B ATLQENEYS tte Our invention relates to a carrier for bottles or like containers, and is particularly useful in their transportation and merchandising. It may be formed from a blank of paperboard or the like and is foldable to a flat position for storage, yet requires only a simple lateral displacement to erect it for use.

In the ordinary carrier of the type adapted to receive six bottles or like containers, the carrier partitions only separate the upper portions of the bottles, while their lower portions are free to contact each other with possible damage or breakage.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of our invention to provide a bottle carrier of the type adapted to receive six bottles with full depth partitions between any two adjacent compartments.

It is a further object of our invention to form these full depth partitions by means of separate inserts which may be added at any time, so that a single inventory of the flat folded carriers may be used to supply both the demand for the greater protection of the full depth partitions as Well as the less critical demand for the carrier with only partial partitions.

A further object of our invention is the provision of such a carrier which requires less paperboard stock for its flat blank and hence can be made more economically than similar styles presently on the market.

Still another object of our invention is the provision of a carrier blank requiring a simplified gluing operation and allowing faster gluing speeds.

These and other objects of our invention which will be pointed out hereinafter, or which will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading these specifications, we accomplish by that construction and arrangement of parts of which we shall now describe an exemplary embodiment.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the blank for our improved bottle carrier showing the initial gluing;

FIGURE 2 is a plan View showing the initial folding stage and the next subsequent gluing;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view showing a subsequent stage of folding and gluing;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view showing the blank in its fully folded and glued condition;

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the full depth partition inserts of our invention with glue applied; and

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the erected carner.

Referring now to FIGURE 1 in which solid lines indicate lines of cut and dot-dash lines indicate lines of fold, we have shown a carrier blank made by ordinary cutting and scoring methods from any paperboard having the desired caliper, strength, and surface finish. The blank embodies a bottom panel 1, a side panel 2, complementary handle members 3 and 4, a side panel 5, and a glue flap 6 arranged in side-by-side relation in the order set forth. Articulated to opposite ends of side panel 2 along lines of fold 7 and 8 are partial end members 9 and 10. A relatively wide glue flap 11 which also serves as a central partition member is joined to partial end member 9 along line of fold 12. A small die cut tongue 13 is provided at the bottom end of this flap which serves to hold the bottom panel 1 in place when the 3,653,411 Patented Sept. 11, 1962 carrier is fully erected. A glue flap 14 which is similar to but narrower than glue flap 11 is joined to partial end panel 10 along line of fold 15. Glue flap 11 is of a width such that when the carrier is erected, the flap extends to the center of the space between the two end compartments, and acts to protect the contents. To compensate for the increased quantity of board required for this construction, glue flap 14 is reduced in width by an equal amount, so there is no increase in total board used for this portion of the blank.

Similarly, articulated to opposite ends of side panel 5 along lines of fold 16 and 17 are partial end panels 18 and 19. Articulated to end panel 19 along line of fold 2-0 is glue flap 21 which has substantially the same dimensions as flap 11 so that it also serves as a central partition member. A glue flap 22 is joined to partial end panel 18 along line of fold 23. This flap is of substantially the same dimensions as flap 14 and has a die cut tongue 24 which will mate with the similar tongue 13 when flaps 11 and 22 are fastened in juxtaposition.

The upper edges (inner edges as they appear in plan view) of side panels 2 and 5 are extended to form shoulder members 25 and 26. To the opposite side edges of these shoulder members are articulated the transverse partition elements 27, 28 and 29, 30. The other ends of transverse partition members 28 and 30 are articulated to the handle members 3 and 4, respectively. The other ends of transverse partition members 27 and 29 are articulated to handle reinforcing members 31 and 32, respectively; and the handle reinforcing members are in turn articulated to the ends of handle members 3 and 4 along line of fold 33, and are adapted to be folded over and secured in juxtaposition with the handle members. Finally, a reinforcing flap 34- is joined to handle reinforcing member 31 along line of fold 35 which is an extension of the line of articulation between handle members 3 and 4.

The folding and gluing of the carrier takes place in the order to be described, and may be accomplished by use of any currently available folding and gluing machines. With the blank in the flat condition, glue is applied to most of the surface of the handle members 3 and 4 as shown by the shaded area in FIGURE 1 of the drawings. Then the handle reinforcing members 31 and 32, flap 34, and transverse partition elements 27 and 29 are infolded along line of fold 33 so that the handle reinforcing members and the handle members are superimposed and adhesively joined. Glue flaps 14 and 21 may be concurrently infolded along lines of fold 15 and 20, respectively, and adhesively joined to the underlying portions of the handle members. Bottom panel 1 is also infolded on its medial line of fold 36. Adhesive is then applied to the upper surfaces of bottom panel 1, glue flap 14, handle reinforcing member 31, and the edge of handle reinforcing member 32 adjacent to line of fold 33. The carrier is now in the condition illustrated in FIGURE 2.

Now the partial end panels 9 and 18, with their articulated glue flaps 11 and 22, are inf-olded along lines of fold 7 and 16, respectively, so that the glue flaps 11 and 22 are superposed and adhesively joined to the handle reinforcing members 31 and 32. Glue is now applied to the upper surface of flap 11. The carrier is now in the condition illustrated by FIGURE 3.

The final fold along line of articulation 35 is now made, bringing the glued area of bottom panel 1 in contact with glue flap 6, and bringing flaps 11 and 14 in contact with flaps 21 and 22 respectively. The carrier is now assembled in knocked-down condition ready for storing or shipping, and is in the condition shown in FIGURE 4.

Erection of the carrier for use may be accomplished by pushing on opposite ends of the flat-folded structure.

The transverse partition elements 27, 28, 29, and 3t), and the partial end panels 9, 10, 18 and 19 are all of the same length, and as pressure is exerted on opposite ends of the carrier, they operate to maintain the sides in a parallel relation. When the carrier is fully erected, all these ele-. ments assume a position at right angles to the side panels. At the same time, the bottom panel 1 is unfolding along line 36 and comes into a horizontal position in which the two halves are substantially coplanar. The carrier may be initially held in the erected position by pressing upwardly on the end of bottom panel 1 so that the die cut notch 37 on that edge engages in the tongue formed by the superposition of cutouts 13 and 24 when glue flaps 11 and 22 are adhesively joined. Thus the carrier may be maintained in the erected condition prior to its being loaded in spite of the inherent resiliency of the paperboard. As was mentioned before and as shown in FIG- URE 6, the glue fiaps 11 and 21 are increased in width sufficient so that they extend to the center of the space between the end compartments to provide a full depth protective partition.

Full depth partitions between the central compartments and all others are provided by means of a separate insert blank shown in FIGURE 5. It comprises an intermediate wall 38 and outer walls 39 and 40 which are mirror images of each other. Intermediate wall 38 and outer Wall 39 are joined along line of articulation 41, and outer wall 40 is joined to the intermediate wall along line of articulation 42. Outwardly projecting die cut locking tabs 43 and 44 are provided along lines of articulation 41 and 42, respectively, positioned to engage under the lower edges of the partition members when the insert is in place, thereby acting to position the insert in its compartment. Recessed areas 45 and 46 allow room for the expansion of material along the line of articulation between the shoulder members of the side panels and the transverse partition members. It will be further noted that the bottom edges of the inserts are rounded so that when the insert blank is folded along its lines of fold 41 and 42, it may be easily placed into the erected carrier, as shown in FIGURE 6. Furthermore, the inclined or tapered top edges of the side wall members 39 and 4t) prevent the inserts from extending above the top of the carrier compartments. Glue is applied to the shaded areas of the inserts and two of them are placed in the carrier in a back-to-back relation to provide full depth partitions between any two compartments. It is understood of course that if the added protection of these full depth partitions is not desired by the customer, the basic carrier without the inserts may be supplied. Therefore only one inventory must be maintained to supply both demands. If desired, the inserts may be placed in the carrier structures as an incident of their manufacture, or they may be supplied as such to the user who will insert them as required, depending upon the nature of the intended use of the carriers.

Modifications may of course be made in our invention without departing from the spirit of it. Having thus described our invention in an exemplary embodiment, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a carrier for bottles or the like formed from a one piece paperboard blank and having a bottom panel, ops posing side and end walls, a central handle structure, and a plurality of transverse partition members extending between said opposing side walls and the said handle member and defining separate compartments therebetween; full depth partition inserts fitted into the said compartments, said inserts each comprising an outer wall panel, an intermediate wall panel, and an outer wall panel articulated together in the order named, and a tab projecting outwardly from each line of articulation between said intermediate wall panel and said outer wall panels in the plane of said intermediate wall panel when said outer wall panels are folded along their lines of articulation at right angles to said intermediate wall panel, said tabs being positioned to engage beneath the lower edges of said transverse partition members so as to position said inserts in place and assist in their retention.

2. The device claimed in claim 1 wherein the bottom edge of said handle structure terminates at substantially the same level as the top of said side wall panels, wherein said transverse partition members extend between the bottom portion of said handle structure and the upper portions of said side wall panels, and wherein at least two of said full depth partition inserts are fitted into opposing compartments on opposite sides of said central handle structure in a back-to-back relationship.

3. The device claimed in claim 2 wherein the said side wall panels and said rear wall panel of said insert are rounded at their bottom edges, and wherein the free edges of said side wall panels have cut-out portions to accommodate the lines of articulation between said side Wall panels and said transverse partition member.

4. In combination, a bottle carrier comprising a bottom panel, opposing side and end wall panels, a central handle structure, the bottom of said handle structure terminating at substantially the level of the top of said side wall panels, a plurality of transverse partition members extending from said side wall panels to said handle structure at right angles thereto to form a plurality of separate compartments therebetween, and a partial central partition structure at each end of said carrier positioned midway between said side wall panels and extending inwardly from said end wall panels in parallel relation to said side wall panels substantially to the center of the space between the two end compartments as defined by the said end wall panels and the said transverse partitions, said partial central partition structure each comprising a pair of juxtaposed glue flaps, one of the glue flaps in each pair being wider than the other, and full depth partition inserts fitted into the central compartments defined by the said transverse partition members, each of said inserts comprising an outer wall panel, a intermediate wall panel, and an outer wall panel articulated together in the order named, a die cut tab projecting outwardly from each line of articulation between said intermediate wall panel and said outer wall panels, said tabs extending outwardly in the plane of said intermediate wall panel when said outer wall panels are folded along their lines of articulation at right angles to said intermediate wall panel, said die cut tabs being positioned to engage beneath the transverse partition members and position the said inserts in place.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,537,615 Arneson Jan. 9, 1951 2,630,264 Holy May 3, 1953 2,709,535 Bergstein May 31, 1955 2,755,965 Ringler July 24, 1956 

